ALRÂS

I Am Exile

The journey across The Great Expanse is a long, difficult one. Many ships bound from the Holy Kadian Empire to the shores of the Emeriaan Colonies never make it, their wrecked shells drifting to the bottom of some dark abyssal trench never to be heard from again. The sea roils with constant storms which toss ships off course. Fowl beasts dwell beneath the waves preying on the ships that cross their paths. Those that survive dock in the coastal city of Newberth (City of Tears and Resurrection) and begin their new lives in this foreign, far flung continent at the edge of the world.

The world they once new is gone. The great cities of The Kadian Empire, with their glistening walls, running water, and beautiful art are replaced by jagged cliffs, and cold grey stone, in a realm still deep in the Dark Ages. The peaceful, settled empire they once knew is gone, and the Emeriaan wilderness stretches as far as the eye can see teaming with foul beasts, barbarian hordes, and ancient evils. Many settle down into the life of a colonist, working tirelessly in mines and farms at the command of Imperial masters. Life is cruel and short. Rumors of great lost fortunes from fallen empires just outside of imperial land reach the ears of many would be adventurers in the towns across the Emeriaan Colonies. Those who journey beyond the “impassible” Wintercap Mountains and past the borders of the Imperial colonies are, in the eyes of any Imperial citizen, stepping off the face of the Alrâs. The journey into the unknown is one few take, and even fewer return from. The people living beyond these mountains know little of the empire. Warring clans of the native Emeriaans savagely wage endless wars over unknown borders. Arcane magic is practiced openly in many of these lands, an act that the empire would call blasphemous. Dark Necromancers from forgotten ages toil in their towers. Warlocks make horrid unspeakable pacts with ancient demons. Could those cast out of the Holy Empire’s safe walls come to this dark, unforgiving continent to change their stars? Only time will tell…